I scoff at October

Yesterday in the middle of my work day I took a one-hour break to go surfing. It was in the mid-80s at 12:30 pm and a light Santa Ana wind was keeping the sky absolutely clear of any clouds. I put in at Tamarack on a receding 2' tide and got a few rides in before packing up and heading back home to continue working.

I must admit that part of the reason I surfed yesterday (October 1st) was on principal. I do miss Charlottesville, but not Virginia weather. Here in Carlsbad, I scoff at October.

Surf log

Absolutely beautiful San Diego morning. No parking at Warmwater so David, Stephen and I put in at Ponto about 8:30 am. 3.5' incoming tide and a nice southwestern swell made for some pretty nice conditions. David stepped on a ray and was stung but seems alright. I got gassed pretty quickly -- now that I have my own gear I am looking forward to surfing much more frequently.

I love the new 8'8" South Coast gun. It is only 21.75" wide so it is pretty unforgiving but I had a few decent rides. I laid on some bubblegum base and topped it with some warm water wax. I may try some cold water on top as well to see it how sticky I can make it. My new O'Neill springer fits great too.

I am so psyched to be finally settled into my new house and own my own surf gear!

The final return

Today I am flying to California with a one-way ticket. My new position within IBM fortuitously requires me to be located in the West. Charlottesville has been wonderful, but there is no place like home, especially a home with beaches, mountains, sunshine and family.

I will not move out of state again. I plan to die in California.

Facebook friends from high school

I was just befriended on Facebook by someone I haven't seen since high school graduation more than 20 years ago. Has something similar happened to you? Please share your story.

It is a great day to be an American

The New Niners

The San Francisco 49ers are showing signs of greatness again. It has been a long time. Here a few end-of-season factoids that give me great optimism for next season:

• New head coach Mike Singletary is 5-4. That is a better winning percentage than 16 coaches in the NFL. Given the sorry history of interim coaches generally, any coach who wins more than he loses is showing awesomeness. He is also the first Niner head coach coach since Steve Mariucci (1997-2002) to have a winning record.
• Frank Gore's 58 yards rushing in yesterday's win over Washington gave him 1,036. It's the first time a 49ers back has run for three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
• Starting QB Shaun Hill is now 5-0 at Candlestick, and 7-3 as a starter. This is the best Niner QB record since Jeff Garcia.
• Isaac Bruce finished with 835 yards receiving, the most by a receiver since Terrell Owens's in 2003.
• Patrick Willis was the NFL tackle king last season, but this year he'll have to settle for second. Willis had seven stops Sunday, leaving him with 141 for the season (13 fewer than Cleveland linebacker D'Qwell Jackson). Still, Willis is a beast.

GO NINERS!

America is back! May she never leave us again

It's a great day for Democrats and Republicans alike. For Democrats, Barack Obama was elected President. For Republicans, there was finally dancing in the streets and Americans greeted as liberators :)

People around the world poured into the streets in jubilation and even tore down a statue of Cheney.